The Miami Dolphins are on a roll this week.
First, they secured the best player in free agency, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Then, Miami pulled off a shrewd trade Friday to land dynamic receiver Kenny Stills from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and a third-round pick.
This is an excellent trade for the Dolphins for several reasons. For starters, they get another deep threat in Stills, who has a career average of 16.5 yards per reception. In his two NFL seasons, he has caught 95 passes for 1,572 yards and eight touchdowns.
Stills' talents will fit in well with a passing offense that includes slot receiver Jarvis Landry, tight end Jordan Cameron and potentially Mike Wallace, if he remains on the roster. This is the type of acquisition that should make Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill happy.
But the best part of this trade is that Miami avoids Ellerbe's $8.45 million salary and clears more than $5 million in cap room. Ellerbe was expendable. He missed 15 games last year due to a season-ending hip injury, and former backup linebacker Jelani Jenkins filled in well and led Miami with 110 tackles. Ellerbe most likely would have been a cap casualty if he wasn't traded to the Saints.
To get value in return -- especially a player of Stills' caliber -- was a big win for the Dolphins. They can also use the cap room they saved to land one or two more solid players.
The only downside of the trade is losing a third-round draft pick. These selections are valuable and an important part of building a team long term. But Miami had to take a hit somewhere to get a talented player such as Stills and save quality cap room.
